Groups worry proposed power lines, towers will kill birds

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Wildlife groups fear a proposed river crossing for a $2 billion power line project that will funnel wind and solar energy from rural spots in New Mexico and Arizona to larger markets in the American Southwest could be a death trap for migratory birds.

The Albuquerque Journal reports the project plans to place high-voltage power lines and towers near three wildlife refuges that provide a seasonal roosting-and-foraging bridge for migrating birds.

The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has already approved a small stretch of the project that would cross the Rio Grande in the Socorro-area.

SunZia Project Manager Tom Wray says the project includes bird conservation plans such as limiting the highest-levels of wires in sensitive areas and using sun-reflective diverters to keep birds away.

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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com